Public art on the rise in Los Angeles
Major artists projects and performances planned for PST
By Bonnie Rosenberg Web only
Published online 30 Sep 11 (News)
Large-scale public works are popping up in Los Angeles and many promise to be hard to miss. This is largely down to a growing number of organisations that focus on public art, such as West of Rome Public Art and Los Angeles Nomadic Division, according to Kris Kuramitsu, the production manager of the Pacific Standard Time Performance and Public Art Festival. Furthermore, working outdoors often allows galleries and organisations to realise artists' projects more quickly. According to Lauri Firstenberg, the director of LAXART, temporary public projects bypass the red tape associated with permanent public art. “We have been able to move more swiftly, often realising an artist's first project in the public realm,” she said. Here is a selection of public works on view:
A billboard by John Outterbridge on La Cienega Boulevard is part of the sculptor's solo exhibition, “The Rag Factory”, at LAXART, the non-profit space founded in 2005 (until 22 October). The installation is part of LAXART's Public Domain programme, which produces projects in unconventional contexts.
Land artist Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass, conceived in 1969, is due to go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) in November. The 340 tonne, 21 ft-tall boulder, which Heizer found in a quarry in Riverside, California, is due to be installed in a 456 ft-long trench behind the museum’s Resnick Pavilion. The piece will become part of the museum’s collection.
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